Shipping container assembly apparatus



April 18, 1961 J. P. KUBES SHIPPING CONTAINER ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Nov. 1, 1956 FEE E1 INVENTOR. fizzy/v F? 191/555 United States Patent Office 2,979,727 Patented Apr. 18, 1961 SHIPPING CONTAINER ASSEMBLY APPARATUS John P. Kubes, 5825 Flower Drive, Parma Heights, Ohio Filed Nov. 1, 1956, Ser. No. 619,779

1 Claim. (Cl. 1-146) This application relates to shipping containers of the type commonly referred to as knock-down containers, and more particularly to the present invention appertains to such knock-down containers of the wire bound type.

Shipping containers of the type to which the invention relates commonly comprise a mat consisting of flexibly connected side membersor sections initially disposed in a common plane and provided with binding wires extending longitudinally thereof. ,Each of the side members or sections is ordinarily-provided with a pair of cleat members, one at each side edge of the respective sections, and Staples are used to secure the wires to the side members. The staples securing the wires extending along the side edges of the mat serve also to secure the cleat members to said side members. The mats or container blanks made up in the form just described are commonly shipped from the factory in fiat condition to the point of use where they are formed up to box form at such point of use. 1

With each shipment of container blanks or mats in flat or knock-down condition above described there are also supplied a number of separate end members, two for each container mat or blank, the end members being supplied separately, unassembled with respect to'the container blanks and designed to be assembled in conjunction therewith when the container mats-or blanks are formed into box form at the point of use. r

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide such a knock-down container construction in which the end members are pro-assembled to their respective container m'ats at the factory prior to shipment of the containers in knock-down or flat condition to point of use.

'A further object of the invention is to provide such a container construction in which the end members are preassembled to their respective mats in permanently secured relation thereto without the necessity for employing additional securing means for so securing the end members, otherthan the securing means already utilized in the production of the mat.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a knock-down container in which the end members are preassembled to the mat atthe factory by the use of machines now used for assembly of the mat parts but not heretofore used for securing the end members to the mat.

-A further object of the invention is to provide novel apparatus for' making'such wire bound shipping containers, wherein such apparatus is provided with means for enabling the end members to be secured in hinged relation to respective side members of the container by the same operation which heretofore has been employed to secure the binding wires and cleat members to the side members without requiring additional separate operations for such purpose and in a manner to avoid the undesired securing of the end members to portions of the side members other than the desired securing of the end members in hinged relation to opposite side edges of the container mats. i a

In carrying my invention into practice I provide a knock-down container construction of the class described which comprises a mat consisting of flexibly connected side members or sections and a respective cleat member at each side edge of each side member, and a pair of end members each comprising a stifi panel and a hinge portion formed of a single piece of flexible material; each hinge portion comprises a main body portion or part secured to the stiif panel and also comprises an edge securing portion adapted to be secured to the side edge of one of the side members or sections at one side edge of the mat, the other end member having its corresponding edge securing portion secured to one of the side members at the opposite side edge of the mat. The main body parts of the end members are hingedly movable relative to their edge securing parts and the hinge portion is preferably scored intermediate the two parts thereof to facilitate the hinge action. a A respective binding wire extends along each side edge of the mat and these binding wires are secured to each of the side members or sections by means of staples which also serve to secure the cleat members to the respective side members or sections. The end members are secured at the locations designated by inserting the edge securing parts thereof between the respective cleat member and its side member prior to the stapling operation so that the stapling of the wires to the side members serves also to secure the end members in hinge relation to the mats.

In order to enable the assembly of the end members in the manner above indicated by the use of apparatus similar to that heretofore employed which serves to staple the binding wires to the side members and to staple the cleats to the side members it is necessary to provide means for preventing the staples which secure the binding wires intermediate the edges of the mat from passing through portions of the end members other than their edge securing parts above mentioned. For this purpose the invention contemplates the provision in such apparatus of staple clinching anvil means interposed between the side members and the end members at the locations of the stapling heads of such apparatus which serve to staple theintermediate Wires to the side members of the container mat as it passes through such apparatus.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan of a container mat construction embodying the invention and showing the same in knockdown or flat condition looking toward the outer face of the mat.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same looking toward the opposite or inner face of the mat.

Figure 3 is a plan view of one of the end members alone.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view showing the essential parts of an apparatus according to the invention for stapling the intermediate binding wires to the side members of the mat, the same illustrating clincher anvil means interposed between portions of the end members and the side members of the mat and its relation to the stapling heads of the apparatus for stapling the intermediate binding wires to the side members of the mat.

The container construction shown comprises a mat generally designated by the letter A consisting of flexibly connected side members or sections generally designated 1, 2, 3, and 4. The side members 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively comprise front, bottom rear, and cover sections. The side members or sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 may be made of any suitable material as for example rotary cut veneer or re-saw lumber and the side members or 3 sections may each comprise one or moreboards or panels as shown. In the container illustrated the front and rear side members or sections 1 and 3 each comprise a single board or panel while the bottom and cover sections 2 and 4 each comprise two'panels'or boards.

Eachof the side members or sections has secured thereto wooden cleats, one disposed at' eachside' edge thereof. The cleat members secured to the side member 1" are designated 5' and- 6; the cleat memberssecured to the side member 2 are designated 7 and 8; the cleat members secured to theside member 3 are designated 9 and 10; the cleat members secured to the side member 4-are designated Hand 12. These cleat members are each provided with a tongue element at one end and a groove at the opposite end and the cleat members are arranged so that the tongue element of each cleat member cooperates with the groove of the next adjacent cleat member when the mat is formed to box form.

- The container is provided with a pair of end members generally designated by the numerals 13 and 14 which are preassembled to the mat A at the factory producing the same. Each of the end members 13 and 14 comprises a top frame part 15 and a bottom" frame part 16 and cross frame parts 17 and 18 secured to the top and bottom frame parts as shown by staples or other suitable fastenings. The top and bottom frame parts 15 and 16are disposed in a common plane and the cross frame parts'17 and 18 are disposed in another common plane ofiset from the plane of the frame parts 15 and 16. The frame parts 15; 17, and '18 are preferably made of relatively stiff material such as the material of which the side members are formed. The bottom frame part 16 preferably is formed offiexible material such as fiber board or corrugated fiber board or like material, the same 'coinprisingahinge portion for the end member 13 or the end member 14, said hinge portion being formed of a single piece of such flexible material. The hinge portion or frame part 16 of each end member includes an edge securing part 16a and a main body part 16b hingedly movable relative-to the part 16a. The hinge portion or frame part 16 may be scored as indicated at 16c intermediate the parts 16a and 16bto facilitate such hinge movement.

The end members 13 and 14 are secured to the mat at'opposit'e side edges thereof as shown, the edge securing part 16a of the hingeportion or bottom frame part 16 of" each end member being inserted between one of the cleats '7 or 8 and'a respective side member such as 2.

As seen best in Figure 1, the woodpanels comprising the side members 1, 2, 3, and 4 are' flexibly connected together by means of binding wires 19, 20, 21' and 22 which are secured to the' sides by means of staples 23; The binding wires 19 and 22 are disposed'along' the opposite side edges of the mat on one face thereof and the cleat members are disposed along the'side" edges of the mat on the opposite face thereof so 'that the staples 23 which secure the binding wires 19 and 22 to the side members pass through the same and into the cleat members whereby the latter are securedto the side members by the same staple; It is also to be noted thatsince the part 16a of the end member 13 is inserted between the cleat 7 on side member 2 prior tothestapling operation, the staples 23 which secure the binding wire 22 to the side member 2 and pass into the cleat 7 serve to secure the end member 13 asrwell' as the cleat 7 to the side member 2. In a similar manner the edge portion 16a of the end member 14 is secured to the side member 2 between the latter and the cleat member 8" by means of the staples23 that secure the binding wire 19to the side member 2' and pass through the part 16aof' end member 14 and into the cleat 85' V v a Thus-no additional fastening'ineansare required for the securing of the-end members inhinge relation to the mat" other than the fastening-means heretofore used to 4 v secure'the-binding wiresand the cleats to the side members.

The containers will be shipped from the factory where made to a point of use in flat or knock-down condition substantially as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and the same will be formed up to box form at the point of use by positioning the sections I'and 37in planes perpendicular to theplane .of the section 2, then bending up the end members13" and 14into' planes perpendicular to the bottom 2, after which vthe sideedges of end member 13 may be nailed or otherwise secured to the adjacent cleat members Sand 9 and'the side edges of the member 14 may similarly be secured to the adjacent cleats 6 and 10.

In the manufacture of containers of the general type to which my invention particularly apertains, it is common to use machines in which the mat parts are placed and fed to stapling devices where the binding wires and cleat members-are-stapled to the side members to form complete units. 7

Such' machines are equipped with endless feed bands and the processing as heretofore practiced involves first placing the cleat members in positions on said feed bands then placing the'panels comprising the side members in positions superimposed upon the cleat members, after which the mat parts are movedby the endless belt to the stapling devices, at which position the binding wires are brought-intocontactwith the side members and stapled thereto, the cleat membersbeing at the same time stapled to the 'side'members. ing the container mats according to my invention, with the use of such machines involves the same processing, except that end members 13, 14 are placed in position with their edge securing parts super posed upon the cleat members 7' and 8 befoi'e placingthe sidemember 2 in position super posed upon said end members, so that as the mat' parts (moved by the feed band) pass through the machine and'are' stapled, the end members are at the same time hingedlysecured to the opposite side edges of the mat by means of the staples23 serving to secure the binding wires 19 and 22 and the cleats 7' and 8 to the side member2. a

In-the use of such apparatusfor the purpose of securing the end members in the manner indicated, difficulty would be encountered in properly supporting the end members for movement with the mat; and difliculty would also'be encountered in connection with the stapling of the intermediate binding wires disposed intermediate the 'side edges ofthe'mat.

My present invention :contemplates "improvements in such apparatus which are'designed to eliminatethese difliculties. In this connection reference is now made to Figure 4 wherein the essential parts of such apparatus embodying improvements of the invention are illustrated, the same includingthe channel shaped side frame mem-. bers 50 within which are disposed the endless belt feed bands:51 whichtmoveiin unison to carry the parts of the that A toward iand'beyondthe stapling heads 52 and '56 which staple'the'=binding wires to theside members of the mat A. Disposed-centrally'between the side rails 50 immediately below the stapling heads 52 is a clincher anvil 53 which is positioned just below the plane of travel of the sidermembers 1, 2, 3; and 4 ofthe mat A. The single: clincher. anvil' 53 extends beneath both stapling headsiSZ' andzis supportedxin this position by a central post 54 which .islsdisposedzcentrally' between the side channelmembers 50* so that itwill not interfere with the travel movements of the end members such as 13, 14 of the mat A as itis moved by the feed-bands 51 toward and beyondt the staplingheads. Extending longitudinally-of the path of travel of the mat A through the apparatus and disposed intermediate the side frame channels 50' are guide channels 55 for supporting the free ends of the end members such as' 13, 14 during the travel movement of the mat A.

The method of mak-.

In the use of the apparatus above described, the cleat members 5, 7, 9 and 11 are first laid on one of the feed bands 51 and the cleat members 6, 8, and 12 are laid on the other feed band 51 after which the end members are placed in position with their edge securing parts superposed on the cleat members 7 and 8 and their free ends supported on the guide rails 55 in the manner shown by Figure 4, whereupon the side members 1, 2, 3 and V 4 are disposed in position with the side member 1 superposed on the cleats 5 and 6, the side member 2 superposed on the edge securing parts of the end members such as 13, 14, the side member 3 superposed upon the cleat members 9 and 10 and the side member 4 superposed upon the cleat members 11 and 12.

When the parts of the mat A have been disposed as just described, the feed bands 51 are caused to move in unison to move the mat A toward and beyond the location of the stapling heads 52 and 56. These stapling heads operate in timed relation relative to the movement of the mat A to cause staples to be inserted periodically which serves to secure the binding wires 19, 20, 21 and 22 which binding wires have previously been disposed as shown in Figure 4 longitudinally of the direction of travel of the mat A through the machine. In this connection it will be noted that the stapling heads 56 serve to secure the binding wires 19 and 22 and the staples inserted by the stapling heads 56 pass through the side members and into the cleats; and the staples that are inserted through the side member 2 also pass through the edge securing parts of the end members such as 13, 14 and pass into the cleats 7, 8. The stapling heads 52 serve to secure the intermediate binding wires 20 and 21 and the staples inserted thereby are clinched by the clinching anw'l 53, it being noted that the anvil 53 is disposed immediately below the stapling heads 52, below the path of movement of the side members, and between the side members and the guide rails 55 whereby the anvil 53 will not interfere with the travel movement of the end members such as 13, 14 the free ends of which are supported on the guide rails 55.

I claim:

In apparatus of the class described, in combination, means for moving container mat parts in a horizontal plane, said means comprising a pair of horizontally spaced endless feed belts, a plurality of stapling'heads disposed above the horizontal plane of movement of a container mat carried by said belts for operation in a direction perpendicular to said plane of movement, said stapling heads being transversely spaced relative to the direction of movement of said belts, said stapling heads being operative to staple binding wires, transversely spaced relative to and disposed longitudinally of the path of movement of said feed belts, to the side members of said container mat, certain of said stapling heads being disposed above the respective feed belts for stapling certain of said binding wires to said side members with staples passing through such side members and through underpositioned hinge portions of respective end members into an underpositioned respective cleat member, other of said stapling heads being disposed for operation intermediate said belts, a pair of guide means disposed below the plane of movement of said side members and extending in the direction of movement of said belts and transversely spaced intermediate the same for supporting the free edges of such end members during travel movement, and clincher anvil means disposed below the plane of movement of said side members and between said plane and the plane of said guide means for cooperation only with the last mentioned stapling heads.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 864,955 Craig Sept. 3, 1907 985,996 Greenstreet Mar. 7, 1911 1,107,216 Hood Aug. 11, 1914 1,232,743 Wibte July 10, 1917 1,406,105 Thompson Feb. 7, 1922 1,748,975 Craig Mar. 4, 1930 1,943,840 Row Ian. 16, 1934 2,032,032 Whiton Feb. 25, 1936 2,360,360 Miller Oct. 17, 1944 

